Christmas vacation

For Christmas, we drove down to spend a week at my parents house. It was the first time all of us had been there together since my sister's wedding, over four years ago!

Here are some highlights:

Mom wanted a family picture, but one person wasn't going to be there when we took it. So I took a photo of them separately and then photoshoped them into the frame. Can you tell which one it is? (Kiera, you can't answer.)



We had more presents under the tree than ever before; it took over two hours to open them all! It was great fun. Kudos to my hubby for getting me all the best presents!


We played games together several times, including the card game Garbage, and Trivial Pursuit. I don't know why we play the latter, we're all horrible at it, except for my dad. And he always quits if he's not winning. Ah, traditions. Joshua got in on the fun too. He's a natural.



"Uncle" Thorin taught Elora how to be a true Jedi. Or is she a Sith? Either way, in the new dress from Grandma she's a pretty cute little fighter.




Elora got to get reacquainted with her cousin, Isabelle. Unfortunately, Isabelle was sick most of the time we were there and wasn't too interested in being friendly. Now the rest of us are all sick too!





Joshua got to hang out with his twin, Uncle Thain.




And what Christmas would be complete without the snow? It was warm enough the first few days, but cooled down into the twenties for the rest of our trip. At least we got outside when it was warm!



I hope everyone else had a merry Christmas. And have a Happy New Year!

Some art stuff

Before I get started...why does my visitor map say someone from Hong Kong was here, yet the only international dot looks like it is in Chile? hmmm. Somethings not right here. Another time it said I had a visitor from Germany, yet the dot was in Finland. Did they think I wouldn't notice? Tsk tsk.

Anyway.

Now, I'll be the first to tell you I'm not a portrait artist. Thats why I liked the idea of illustration so much...it doesn't have to look exactly like anyone, but it can still be considered 'good'.
True, I've made the odd attempt. I've become quite adept at the ubiquitous self-portrait required in all art classes. I even got to sculpt my head in clay once. (Whatever happened to that?).

Once I even braved a likeness of my husband. This was when we were on the verge of being laid off at Airborne, circa 2005, and I had LOTS of downtime. Yeah, I did it at work. What do you think?




Yeah, I know. His teeth are HUGE in this drawing! But the colors are nice right? And the eyes are pretty close to what they should be, all smiley and such. Its just a little stretched out. Or something. Maybe his nose is too small.

Today, Elora and I had another drawing day. I felt motivated to get off my behind and do something, when I was reading Jill's post about feeling like garbage because she was home all day. I could totally relate, with the added guilt that I never do anything with my art. At least not since the last time Elora and I had an art day.
So here is the finished product:

Do you like it? I'd say this definitely falls into the realm of illustration: A nice piece of art, but does it really look like her? The hair looks cool, and the colors turned out great. But hmmm, does she look stoned? (She's supposed to be looking down). And Elora bumped my hand so there are a few spots that reaaaaly bother me. Oh well, at least I tried.

Did I mention that in art classes we were told repeatedly that, "Illustration is the bastard child of the art community" ?

Maybe I should just stick to learning how to do watercolors. Of course, my one attempt at this that I still own was completed about five years ago. Hmm, I don't stick to these things very well, do I.

The land of domesticity and the pale green pants

For those of you with no children, who find such domestic matters quite a bore, feel free to scroll down to my ode to my coolest pants ever. Yeah, much more exciting.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share a few happenings around our home. For one...Elora is almost potty trained! She's been wearing underwear for two weeks now, even during naps. She has still had an accident now and then, but she's learning fast and we're not afraid to leave the house without her diaper on anymore. Yay Elora, what a big girl! Of course, our trip to my parents for the week of Christmas might undo all that, but one can only hope.

Joshua too is growing in leaps and bounds. You saw that he can now sit, and he has also started eating baby food, as this week he is six months old. (I apologize for the horrible out-of-focus pictures. Yeah, my camera has a super slow shutter speed...not that digital cameras actually have a shutter, but you know what I mean.)

Now, when I was expecting Elora, I was all about becoming educated on this pregnancy/child- rearing thing. I've read all the books: What to Expect When You're Expecting, What to Expect the First Year, The Breastfeeding Book, The Baby Whisperer, etc, etc.

I know all the rules: you should never feed a baby real food before four months, and ideally not before six months. (They need it then because their iron reserves from birth have now been depleted.) Never give a baby egg whites, or peanut butter, or anything else that may trigger early allergies. Wait until your baby exhibits signs of readiness before giving them food.

While I wholeheartedly agree with these things, I must admit I didn't completely follow them. Elora started eating baby food before five months. But in my defense, she did seem ready! She had two teeth, could sit up fairly well, and was very interested in our food.

I intended to stick it out with Joshua. But, well, at five months he really wanted to taste my ice cream. And a piece of the banana I was sharing with Elora. And a bite of sweet potatoes. I did wait till the six month mark for the actual 'rice cereal' and baby food though. Yay me.

Enough with all of this. Do you want to hear about my pants? I was looking through my gazillions of photo albums (okay, more like 10 or 11) and I happened upon some pics of the coolest pants I ever owned. They were green, fitted at the top yet baggy below, and had tons of pockets. The legs were wide enough that if I bent my knees, I could hide my shoes inside them.

Cool shirt too, huh?

When I first got them, I was afraid people would think I was a skater wanna-be. But then I figured, hey, artists can wear whatever they want right? When I wore these pants I was confident, cool, even a bit cocky. One might even say I strutted a bit. But then, my Superman shirt has the same effect.

Oh yeah, I'm awesome. Check out my painting.

Sadly, I no longer own these awesome pants. I figured they were too juvenile for a professional adult to own, and I think I gave them to the Good Will. True, they were starting to get holes in the backside, they were a bit short on me (an unfortunate side effect with my hight) and I know with certainty that they would not fit me today.

Cool as a cucumber. With an orange shirt.

But on occasion, I miss my pale green pants, with nobody inside them. (Okay, they're not pale, but thats my favorite Dr. Seuss story.)

Joshua learns some tricks

Hey look, Poe-pee knows a new trick!


Who taught you that,Pope-a-dope? Ah, I see Saucy-lee had something to do with it.






Whoa, don't fall! Hey, did she push you?



I guess that's what big sisters are for.